Annual reminder: you may have unclaimed funds that are being held by your state (US) or other government.
There are many reasons you might have unclaimed funds: abandoned accounts, unclaimed deposits, uncashed checks, misspelled names, estate funds, incorrect addresses, misplaced inheritance and trusts, etc, and your government is required to hold your property until you claim it.
They will not seek you out, and most people are completely unaware they may have lost funds or property being held by the state.
Every state in the US and most governments have an official website where you can check whether you have unclaimed property and submit a claim. There are typically no fees, and you shouldn’t need an attorney or solicitor to claim them.
Just search ‘[my state] or [my country] unclaimed property’ (or ‘biens non réclamés’)
Make sure you’re at the official site for your government and not one of the many scam sites trying to get a cut by doing this for you. The official sites are typically easy and should not require a 3rd party. There should be no extra fees.
If you’re in the US, check every state you’ve lived in. Moving state is one of the major reasons this happens, and your unclaimed funds will not move to a new state with you.
e: Here’s my previous year’s thread on this, with more discussion. This isn’t sovcit bullshit. It’s real.
Also note that you’re unlikely to find life-changing amounts this way. Most people report a few dollars to a few thousand. Large amounts motivate lawyers to seek you out.
e2: I wonder how much this could change a government’s budget if enough people started claiming these funds at once? Would that basically do what the run on banks did? The money is hypothetically there, but it’s not really there at scale.
I have like $35. submitted documents as asked. it’s been over a year and nothing. better luck to you folks but it didn’t work for me.
Whoa hey. I have like $100 from Google and 11 cents from a previous job. 😳
Edit: Turns out it’s my AdSense revenue from my youtube channel. But it’s only like $80, so they won’t pay me? I can only cash out if it’s $100 or more. 🤨
Nice!
e to your edit: that sounds like a different thing, maybe?
Funds held by the state are typically turned over as fixed amounts, I thought.Was that the amount your government said they were holding or what Google said they owed you? When these funds go to the government, I understood they were zeroed out at the company; that’s typically the point? Please someone correct me if I’m wrong – I don’t want to spread misinformation.
I have a few, some fractional shares in a company I used to work for (3-letter US pharmacy chain), that got lost in the ether when porting my 401k out to my next employer. Estimated value < $200
They need a fucking proof of residence matching my address at the time…my early 20s bachelor pad, nearly 20 years ago. My old landlord is dead. My roommates at the time…one went off-grid and disappeared himself, other was and remains a deadbeat and I don’t think he was actually on any bills or the lease anyway.
Is it even worth the effort of trying to track it down now? It’s almost just on principle at this point.
https://www.reddit.com/r/howto/comments/163r412/how_to_get_proof_of_residency_at_an_old_address_i/
This person was in the same exact boat and was able to get proof of their old residency from their credit report
I used to work for (3-letter US pharmacy chain)
Having done the same (well, a smaller company they bought well before I started), you have my deepest sympathies.
Hey thanks. I found 3 claims and almost $200.
Australia has a similar thing.
https://moneysmart.gov.au/find-unclaimed-money/money-held-by-state-governments
Neat! I didn’t have anything to claim but a few family members do. Thanks :)
Glad to help! I try to post this every year because it’s amazing how common this is, and it’s a pleasant boost after the holiday slump, whether it happens to you or you gave it to someone else. :)
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